Michelin-Recognized Can Font Finally Confirms Opening Date in the Pearl

Spain’s celebrated Can Font restaurant has been gearing up to open a sister location in Portland’s Pearl District, as first reported by Eater in October, and it’s finally ready to announce a date: PoMo writes Can Font, located at 1075 NW Northrup St., will open for lunch and dinner on Tuesday, May 30 Saturday, June 3.

In Spain, Can Font is a large restaurant with expansive grounds in the countryside outside of Barcelona, and in 2016 and 2017, it was included on the Michelin restaurant guide’s Bib Gourmand, a list focused on high-value restaurants. It is owned by executive chef Joseph Vidal, and he is working with restaurateur Vladimir Zaharchook-Williams to establish Can Font Portland.

In an email to Eater in October, Zaharchook-Williams said Can Font Portland will serve “traditional Catalan fine cuisine,” and the PoMo update fills in more of the blanks: The restaurant will seat around 60, and the menu will be “nearly identical” to that in Spain, with paellas, Iberico ham, and a seafood-focus.

Also according to PoMo, Chef Vidal seeks to furnish an authentic representation of modern Spanish cuisine:

His “modern” Spanish cooking isn’t “modernist” in the way we think of Ferran Adrià or, locally, Castagna. Comparing his cooking style to that of Chesa, he says there’s less foam and less catering to American palates.

This is certainly promising for anyone who loves Mediterranean cuisine, which tends to draw as much inspiration from family traditions and a deep sense of hospitality as it does from the latest cooking advancements.

• Can Font Spain [Official]
• Can Font Portland [Official]
• Iconic Barcelona Restaurant Opens an Offshoot in Portland [PoMo]
• Michelin Guide-Recognized Restaurant from Barcelona to Expand to Portland’s Pearl District [EPDX]